Aim For a Mix of “Doers, Thinkers & Feelers”
Nancy Dubuc is the Chief Executive of A&E Networks, a global entertainment media company. In a recent interview with Adam Bryant of The New York Times, Dubuc spoke about the importance of trust, the value of constructive thoughts and the idea of mixing “doers, thinkers and feelers” in the workplace. Here are some key points taken from the interview:
- Worrying doesn’t achieve anything: “Don’t worry about it because it’s not going to turn out that way anyway… so much of what we worry about is the outcome, and outcomes rarely turn out the way you think they’re going to… it might be better.”
- There are two types of candidates: “There are very few black-and-white truths in management or in business, but one that I have found is that people either hire people who are smarter than them or people hire people they can control.”
- Are difficult employees often the best performers? “Another pattern I’ve seen is that managers will sometimes complain that one of their employees is difficult to manage. But those difficult people often tend to be the best performers.”
- There’s no one way to manage: “Great managers recognize that there is no one way to manage.”
- Trust is crucial: “I need to trust who works for me, and they need to trust me. Trust is just paramount… It really needs to be trust by action.”
- Constructive comments are most useful: “I value people who have something constructive to say and can make things better.”
- Hire a mix of thinkers, doers and feelers: “If you have all thinkers nothing will get done. If you have all doers that can be really chaotic because you’re not necessarily thinking about the consequences. And feelers are important because they create energy – but if you have too many of them, they will just dramatize the moment.”
- Ultimately it’s all about balance: “When you put the different kinds of people together in the right way, that can be very powerful. You never want that out of balance.”